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Product Description Her name evokes visions of lush sensual discovery and the extremes of forbidden ecstasy. She is Emmanuelle, and these are the films that changed the look and feel of erotic cinema forever. The incomparably beautiful Sylvia Kristel stars in this landmark adult trilogy that begins with the sumptuous "Emmanuelle," continues with the explosive "Emmanuelle 2," and climaxes in the daring final chapter "Good-Bye Emmanuelle," which is only available in this collection. Amazon.com Anchor Bay gives Just Jaeckin's legendary 1974 erotic drama Emmanuelle an appropriately sumptuous DVD presentation, featuring uncut prints of the original and its two official sequels, 1975's Emmanuelle 2 and 1977's Goodbye Emmanuelle, in a three-disc set. All three films, which star Sylvia Kristel in the title role, are handsomely mounted adults-only fare, and their lush photography, exotic locations, and arousing (but not explicit) bedroom couplings not only helped to change softcore features, but also offered an alternative to XXX for mainstream audiences. Based on a memoir by the wife of a delegate to Thailand, Emmanuelle focuses on the sexual awakening of a naive French diplomat's spouse at the hands of an experienced older man (Alain Cuny). First-time director Jaeckin and producer Yves Rousset-Rouard eschewed going the pornographic route with the story, and instead concentrated on the natural beauty of the Thailand setting and their star, 20-year-old Dutch model Kristel. The film was a runaway success in Europe and America, where it was successfully promoted as an erotic film devoid of porn's misogynistic tendencies. In addition to its box-office impact, Emmanuelle encouraged other softcore filmmakers to showcase travelogue-style locations and less sniggering storylines.Emmanuelle's success naturally precipitated sequels, and two more adventures followed: Emmanuelle 2 (subtitled The Joys of a Woman in the States), which moved the action to Hong Kong; and Goodbye Emmanuelle, which sent the libertine to the Seychelles in search of a meaningful relationship. Respective directors Francis Giacobetti and Francois Leterrier's efforts were appropriately spicy, but Rousset-Rouard wisely decided to quit while he was ahead after the third picture. The series' worldwide appeal prompted a string of cheap and strange ripoffs, many featuring Indonesian actress Laura Gemser, who appears in Emmanuelle 2. But for cult movie fans, Anchor Bay's set offers the real Emmanuelle in all of her undraped glory. --Paul Gaita Set Contains: Anchor Bay's Emmanuelle Collection comes in an appropriately sleek and undeniably sexy package, with a slipcover sleeve that reveals a reworked reproduction of Paramount's American one-sheet poster. Inside, the three discs open into a three-paneled gatefold, with tinted photos of Kristel on display and an informative liner note booklet. The discs themselves offer widescreen versions of each feature, as well as English and French language options and English subtitles. U.S. and international trailers as well as several radio spots are also included with each title, as is an impressive collection of posters, lobby cards and stills, and a well-written bio on Kristel. The extras are rounded out by a 36-minute, three-part featurette titled "The Joys of Emmanuelle," which offers comments by Jaeckin, Kristel, and Rousset-Rouard on the making of the films, their impact on their lives, and the legal and ratings struggles they faced in Europe. --Paul Gaita See more
Although I've had the first two Emmanuelle films on VHS for several years, I didn't see Goodbye Emmanuelle until just recently, after watching the complete Emmanuelle Collection sequentially. What struck me about the series is the evolution of, or changes in, Emmanuelle's character.Emmanuelle: Here, she is something of an ingenue. The scene where she puts on boyish expressions corresponding to different ways of wearing a baseball hat expresses the charm of her (relative) innocence. This is my second favorite in the series.Emmanuelle l'Anti-Vierge: [How the "Anti-Virgin" subtitle was translated into "Joys of a Woman" is beyond me!] This is my favorite of the three films. Very, very erotic! A good story well directed. Great music. Great script. Wonderfully acted. It's a miracle this film is able to get in so much erotica and yet make it all seem so natural and plausible. I love Sylvia Kristel in this film. It's the only one in which she has long hair. And her character is absolutely seductive in every way. Also, she is given quite a few comic-ironic zingers which I anticipate and relish with every viewing. When a woman with whom her husband has made love in the sea (Emmanuelle complains that for her, it's just the bathtub or swimming pool!) comments on the performance of some Asian fan dancers, qualifying the dance as "erotique," Emmanuelle responds sarcastically, "Aquatique." But she'll get a chance to mate like (cold) fish in her next film, Goodbye Emmanuelle. In this film, Emmanuelle is very wise to the world, and her cynical maturity makes her a very interesting character to watch.Goodbye Emmanuelle: Having just watched it for the first time, I must say that it is my least favorite. Jean (played again by Umberto Orsini)is not as charming as he was in the second film, and Emmanuelle is either troubled, sad, rebellious, or angry. Her emotional range is broader, and she shows her acting skills very well, but her character is just not very likeable here. The film has few sex scenes compared to the previous ones. And while more total frontal nudity (including brief flashes of male frontal nudity) is on display when the plot comes around to the sex, there is just nothing erotic happening anywhere in this film. The film should have been called Emmanuelle l'Anti-Erotique. The cold matter-of-factness of the nudity along with Emmanuelle's negative moodiness just saps any fun from this last official outing. What saves the film, and prevents me from lowering the overall grade of the collection, is the solid acting (but, alas, no memorable lines), true character development (even if it's not in the direction I would have preferred), and some great Seychelles locations. Goodbye Emmanuelle does offer a (sad, but perhaps inevitble) resolution to the "free couple" philosophy that Jean espoused from day one.Sylvia Kristel signed for three films. Forget about her brief apearance in Emmanuelle 4, or whatever the actual French title is. I saw it once, and hated it. And forget about her bookend appearances in later Emannuelle offerings. The Emmanuelle Collection is a true trilogy. And what makes it a trilogy is the evolution of Emmanuelle's character. Had this series been made in Hollywood, Emmanuelle would have no doubt reconciled with Jean, and they would have become strictly monogamous, living happily ever after. The French, instead, opt for a moral lesson. Be careful what philosophy you preach. It may just bite you in the derriere.I'm not aware of any other soft core erotic trilogy where a central character actually evolves. I believe this is what sets these films apart from what I imagine to be the rest.Finally, I've read a few reviews elsewhere on the internet emphasizing that the Emmanuelle movies are somewhat erotically tame by today's standards. I can't really say. But the lasting popularity of this trilogy seems to attest to my supposition that some of us prefer it a bit tame. Eroticism is not so much about sexual explicitness. It's more about the characters involved, what you sense they are feeling (physically and emotionally), and what you don't see but must instead imagine. Some of us don't want material that is too explicit and exploitative. Based on my somewhat limited familiarity with erotic films (I do have, for example, L'Histoire d'O and Red Shoe Diaries), Emmanuelle l'Anti-Vierge is erotica cooked up just right. The perfect blend. And since I care about the title character, this is, for my money, the best erotic film series.
